133: Chapter 133 Xiao Baihe Jumps into the River

The door to 103 also opened, and Liu Hong and Wang Dahai came out to see what the commotion was about.

"What's going on here?" Liu Hong asked, pretending not to know.

"She seduced my man, and she hit me!" Zhang Cuihua tearfully accused.

Liu Hong immediately sided with Zhang Cuihua: "Xiao Baihe, you've gone too far! How dare you seduce someone else's husband and still act righteous?"

Xiao Baihe looked at these twisted faces, listening to the barrage of accusations, and suddenly felt it was laughable.

She laughed, and as she laughed, tears streamed down her face.

"I seduced him?"

"Search your hearts and ask yourselves, how have you treated me from the very first day I arrived?"

"Throwing trash at my door, smearing glue on my doorknob, breaking my things, knocking on my door in the middle of the night, posting notes to curse me..."

"I endured it all because I need to find my daughter. I can't afford to make trouble..."

She swept her gaze across each face: "But you lot? You only became worse."

"Today, your husband, drunk, tried to assault me. Not only did you not stop him, but you hit me, cursed me..."

"You're lying!" Zhang Cuihua shrieked.

"I'm lying?" Xiao Baihe wiped away her tears. "Li Qiang, do you dare swear to heaven you didn't try to touch me just now?"

Li Qiang lowered his head, not daring to speak.

Wang Dahai tried to smooth things over: "Let it go, let it go, it's all just a misunderstanding..."

"It's not a misunderstanding!" Xiao Baihe cut him off. "Liu Hong, you're involved too. Those notes, those midnight knocks on the door, do you dare say it wasn't you?"

Liu Hong's face changed color: "You... you're slandering me!"

"I'm slandering you?" Xiao Baihe laughed, a desolate laugh. "Fine, I'm slandering you. I'll leave, okay? I'll move out, so I won't be an eyesore to you all."

She turned, went back into her room, and slammed the door shut.

Outside the door, the sounds of Zhang Cuihua and Liu Hong cursing and complaining could be heard, along with the two men's voices trying to mediate.

But none of that mattered anymore.

Xiao Baihe leaned against the door and slowly slid down to sit on the floor.

She didn't cry. Her tears had already run dry.

She remembered her wedding day at twenty-three.

She remembered Chen Jianjun's honest, kind smile.

She remembered the brief warmth from her in-laws during her pregnancy.

She remembered her daughter's wrinkled little face when she was born.

She remembered the despair of being driven out of her husband's family home.

She remembered the tightly shut door of her own parents' house.

She remembered the nights spent in hotels, holding her daughter.

She remembered the first time Xiao Jing called her 'Mommy'.

She remembered the fire and chaos on the day her daughter went missing...

Thirty-two years of life, like one long, drawn-out tragedy.

She had tried, she had struggled, she had endured, but fate had never been kind to her.

And now, even her last shred of dignity had been trampled.

She stood up, pulled the woven bag from under the bed. Inside were her daughter's clothes, toys, and a thick stack of missing person notices.

She stroked Xiao Jing's sweater and whispered, "Xiao Jing, Mommy is tired. Really tired."

Outside the window, the night was deep.

Winter in Zhongzhou was bitterly cold, the wind like knives.

Xiao Baihe changed into her best set of clothes.

It was a red woolen sweater bought a couple of years ago. Though old, it was warm.

She combed her hair in front of the broken mirror, carefully grooming herself.

Then she pushed open the door and stepped out into the cold winter night.

The hallway was quiet. Light from televisions seeped out from under the doors of 102 and 103.

Those two couples were watching TV dramas; faint laughter drifted out.

Xiao Baihe did not look back.

She walked out of the Residential Complex, along familiar streets, past the utility poles plastered with missing person notices, all the way to the old canal in the west of the city.

The river water was dark and heavy in the night, like an abyss of fate.

The wind from the river was strong, almost knocking her off her feet.

She stood by the bridge railing, looking down at the water below.

If she just jumped, all the pain would end.

No more searching for her daughter, no more enduring bullying, no more facing this cold, indifferent world.

"Xiao Jing, Mommy is coming to find you."

She said in her heart.

If we are destined not to find each other, then let us reunite in another world.

She closed her eyes and took a step forward.

The cold wind swept across the river surface, carrying a damp, fishy smell, cutting into faces like a knife.

Xiao Baihe stood by the bridge railing, her fingers turning purple from the cold, yet she clung desperately to the icy iron bars.

She leaned half her body out, looking down at the bottomless water below.

If she just let go and leaned forward, everything would be over.

How many years had it been?

After her husband died, she drifted with her daughter like duckweed.

After her daughter went missing, she searched like a walking corpse.

And now, even the last bit of her dignity had been thoroughly trampled by her neighbors.

What was left in this world worth clinging to?

She closed her eyes and prepared to let go.

...

At the same time.

Cao Kun happened to be driving by.

He had originally come today to help Long Huili relieve her 'itch'.

Midway through, Long Huili's husband called, telling her to come home.

Helpless, the two could only end things hastily.

After Long Huili left in a taxi.

Cao Kun drove home, reaching the old canal in the west of the city.

He saw a woman standing by the river, about to jump.

This woman was Xiao Baihe.

Late at night, freezing cold, there wasn't even a pedestrian around.

Although there were quite a few vehicles on the road, they were all rushing by, and no one noticed.

Just as Xiao Baihe was about to jump.

Cao Kun directly pulled his car over to the roadside, got out, and ran towards Xiao Baihe.

Afraid of startling Xiao Baihe, Cao Kun didn't dare make a sound until he was close. Then, from behind, he wrapped an arm around Xiao Baihe's waist.

Only then did Cao Kun speak.

"Don't jump!"

Xiao Baihe only heard a low shout from behind.

Immediately after, a strong arm abruptly encircled her waist, forcibly pulling her back from the railing.

She fell backward into a warm embrace, struggling to break free: "Let me go! Let me die!"

"What's so unbearable that you have to seek death?" It was a man's voice, steady and firm. "Come with me to the car first. It's too cold here."

Cao Kun practically half-carried, half-dragged Xiao Baihe away from the bridge's edge.

The woman was lighter than he expected, but she struggled with a raw strength.

He didn't dare use too much force, afraid of hurting her, yet he didn't dare let go, afraid she would rush back to the bridge.

"Let me go! My business is none of yours!" Xiao Baihe cried, pounding on his arm.

Cao Kun said nothing, directly stuffing her into the passenger seat and locking the door.

He quickly walked around to the driver's seat, got in, started the engine. The heater immediately began blowing noisily.

The interior light came on. Only then did Cao Kun get a clear look at the woman's face.

Even with her face streaked with tears, even haggard beyond recognition, one could still see her astonishing beauty.

Those almond-shaped eyes were swollen and red, her nose tip bright red from the cold, her lips chapped, yet there was a kind of broken beauty about her.

She wore a red woolen sweater with a pair of faded jeans underneath. She was curled up in the seat like a wounded little animal.

Just as Cao Kun was about to speak to comfort her, the system's voice suddenly rang in his mind.

[Ding, new mission released: Help the ill-fated Xiao Baihe, take revenge on those who have harmed her, help her achieve self-redemption and gain a new life.]

[Those who have harmed her include her neighbors and the murderer of her daughter.]

[Mission completion reward: Four hundred thousand huaxia coins.]

...